161 research outputs found
EVOLUTION OF JONICA SHORELINE BETWEEN BRADANO AND BASENTO RIVERS THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL AND RECENT CARTOGRAPHIES AND IMAGES
La dinamica costiera jonica fra i fiumi Basento e di Bradano è un processo geomorfologico
complesso, che prende in considerazione l'erosione, la sedimentazione, le attività
umane, le mareggiate ed altri fattori. L'uso e l'analisi di cartografie e di immagini
storiche e recenti può essere considerata un'operazione importante per il controllo
e la valutazione del litorale costiero. Questo lavoro presenta cartografie e dati
che illustrano la dinamica costiera di questa zona dal 1873 al 2007 ed consente di
avere dati quantitativi per la comprensione dei fenomeni in atto e per la fase successiva
decisionale per la mitigazione degli stessi.Jonica coastal dynamic between Bradano and Basento rivers analysis is a geomorphologically
complex process, that takes in consideration the erosion, the sedimentation,
the human activities, the seas storm and other factors. The use and the
analysis of historical and recent cartographies and images can be considered a
valuable task for coastal monitoring and assessment. This paper presents maps
illustrating the shoreline dynamic of this area from 1873 to 2007, and supplies
quantitative data for the understanding of the phenomena and the following phase
of the decisional processes for the reduction of the same ones
THE WATER RESOURCES AND THE SOUTHERN QUESTION: THE RESERVOIRS IN BASILICATA
La presente nota parte dalla questione meridionale nata subito dopo l’unità d’Italia del
1861. Le differenze fra il Nord e il Sud del Paese erano causate da diversi fattori, fra i
quali il sistema organizzativo e l’arretratezza tecnologica delle lavorazioni agricole, che al
Sud si legava anche alle caratteristiche fisiche del territorio e alla disponibilità della risorsa
idrica, con riflessi sulla ridotta possibilità di coltivazione, sulla limitazione della velocità
di crescita della vegetazione e su un ecosistema più fragile rispetto all'erosione e al secolare
disboscamento. Da qui tutti gli interventi avvenuti negli anni che hanno segnato la storia
del nostro Paese e, nel caso particolare, della Regione Basilicata oggetto del presente articolo.
Dopo la contestualizzazione storica del problema della risorsa idrica in Basilicata, l’attenzione
è posta sugli interventi sul sistema idrico in Basilicata e, in particolare, alla realizzazione
dei principali invasi, studiati soprattutto attraverso fonti cartografiche prima e
dopo la loro realizzazione. Questi invasi sono stati descritti, illustrati e rivisti come presenza
attuale sul territorio.
Gli interventi abilmente effettuati dall’uomo, in anni in cui l’attenzione a uno sviluppo
sostenibile non era certamente la stessa che si ha adesso, conferiscono attualmente agli
invasi una presenza quasi naturale con valorizzazione delle aree nelle quali insistono. Gli
invasi oggi si fondono con il territorio circostante creando suggestivi scenari paesaggistici
e danno ai luoghi valenza culturale, paesaggistica, ambientale e turistica con l’insediamento
di Osservatori Ovifaunistici e Oasi del WWF, attività di birdwatching, manifestazioni
sportive, realizzazione di aree attrezzate.
A completamento, una parte del lavoro è stata propriamente dedicata alle opere di sbarramento
sotto il profilo ingegneristico, agli studi, alle conoscenze e alle indagini necessarie
alla loro realizzazione.
La risorsa idrica in Basilicata, da problema storicizzato, è attualmente la seconda risorsa
regionale dopo il petrolio, ma la prima se si guardano i bisogni primari della popolazione.Starting from the “Southern Question" born just after the 1861 Italian national unity,
this article reviews the main causes of the differences between Italy's North and South
and, especially, the structure and the technological backwardness of the cultivations
that has been particularly examined due to its links to the physical characteristics of
the of the country and the water availability that underlie a reduced cultivation possibility
and a limited growth rate, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, cause a
more fragile ecosystem also due to the ancient deforestation of the area.
After a short historic contextualization of the water resources problem, a closed attention
is paid to the works on the Basilicata Region water system and, especially,
on the main reservoirs studied through the exam of cartographic maps before and
after their construction. These reservoirs have been drawn, illustrated and reviewed
considering their presence on the territory.
These works, even if performed in times when the attention to a sustainable development
was not as high as nowadays, give to the reservoir a nearly natural aspect, beside
increasing the value of the surrounding areas. These reservoirs, as a matter of facts,
merging with the territory create evocative landscapes and lend to the area a particular
cultural, landscape and environmental worthiness through the settlement of WWF
oasis and observatories, bird-watching activities, sports events and equipped areas.
Finally, part of this article is dedicated to the engineering aspects of the dams, that
is to the studies, the knowledges and to the surveys necessary for their construction.
The water resource of the Basilicata Region has been a problem in the past, but it is
now the second regional resource just after the oil, but it must be considered the
first one if the primary needs of the population are considered
CARTOGRAPY IN THE EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE: 3D LASER SCANNER APPLICATIONS
La presente proposta è relativa all’utilizzo dei rilievi Laser Scanner 3D per la valorizzazione
dei beni culturali e naturali.
Alla base di ogni intervento volto alla valorizzazione dei beni culturali e naturali è fondamentale
che ci sia un percorso di conoscenza che non sia solo storico-artistico come
accade spesso, ma anche attraverso la conoscenza accurata delle sue caratteristiche (posizione,
forma, geometria, materia e colore), dettagli fondamentali per tutelare e valorizzare
il patrimonio. La tecnologia del laser scanner 3D consente di ottenere risultati
di eccellente qualità in tempi relativamente brevi e di intervenire in ambienti complessi
laddove altre tecniche mostrano numerosi limiti. L’innovativa metodologia di rilievo rivela
la sua efficacia non solo nell’acquisizione e restituzione dei dati, ma soprattutto
nella rappresentazione cartografica.
Rispetto alle altre tecniche, il rilievo non è parziale ma completo e oggettivo: tutto ciò
che è presente nel range di azione del laser scanner 3D viene rilevato senza alcuna distinzione.
Il suo impiego risulta, pertanto, essenziale per rilevare e acquisire informazioni
su beni particolarmente articolati ed irregolari, su parti inaccessibili o comunque non
facilmente raggiungibili (notevoli altezze, presenza di asperità, ecc.), su elementi delicati,
evitandone il contatto diretto.
In questa nota sono riportati alcuni esempi applicativi della metodologia laser scanner
3D ed il beneficio delle relative informazioni cartografiche attraverso il rilievo di alcuni
importanti beni culturali di grande valenza architettonica, storica e naturale quali il, gli
ipogei di piazza della città di Matera e di un tratto del torrente Gravina di Matera che
intaglia formazioni coerenti determinando suggestivi paesaggi.The present paper deals with the use of the 3D Laser Scanner ion the development
of natural and cultural resources.
Any intervention pointed to the development of natural and cultural resources needs
to learn, besides the fundamental historical and artistic knowledge, some of their characteristics such as location, form, geometrical aspects, material properties and
colour, all features that must be considered basic for both the safeguard and the development
of the resource itself. The 3D Laser Scanner technology enables to obtain
in a short time excellent results and to be active in particular environments where
other techniques result to be rather limited. This technique is particularly effective
not only in the acquisition and rendering processes, but also in cartographic representation
of data.
Compared to other technique, the 3D Laser Scanning is complete and objective: everything
that is in the activity range of the used instrument is completely registered without
any distinction. Ultimately, its use results to be absolutely necessary to survey and
collect information in case of quite irregular and articulated structures, of very difficult
or completely inaccessible parts and of fragile elements, avoiding the direct contact.
Some examples of the use of the 3D Laser Scanner technique are here quoted emphasizing
the advantages of the cartographic information as result from the survey of
some important cultural resources relevant from architectural, historical and natural
points of view, in particular: the Santuario della Palomba, the Vittorio Veneto Square
in Matera hypogees, and a part of the Gravina di Matera, a torrent deeply incised in
limestones rocks that creates striking sceneries
MAPPING OF SHEEP TRACKS AND PATHS OF TRANSHUMANCE IN THE BASILICATA: THE OLD SHEEP-TRACK-MATERA MONTESCAGLIOSO
La presente proposta parte dalla tutela e valorizzazione dei tratturi, sentieri erbosi, pietrosi
o in terra battuta, sempre a fondo naturale, originatisi dal passaggio e dal calpestio degli
armenti ed utilizzati dai pastori per compiere la transumanza, ossia per trasferire con cadenza
stagionale le greggi da un pascolo all'altro. Tali tratturi sono definiti, ai sensi delle
disposizioni di legge, "beni di interesse archeologico", e sono soggetti, come ogni opera
anche di pubblico interesse, a parere vincolante della soprintendenza archeologica e per i
beni architettonici e per il paesaggio.
La pubblicazione si sviluppa con un inquadramento del bene, storico, normativo e cartografico,
partendo dalla carta generale dei tratturi in scala 1:500.000 del 1912 a cura dell'Ufficio
Tecnico di Finanza di Foggia, rivista come Mappa dei tratturi nel 1959 sulla
precedente edizione del 1912, terminando al web GIS Tratturi del Centro Cartografico Dipartimentale
della Regione Basilicata. L’attenzione è quindi posta sull’antico tratturo Matera
– Montescaglioso, percorso che si svolge lungo il ciglio della Gravina passando per
Cristo la Selva, il guado Passarelli e le chiese rupestri del Vallone della Loe. L'ultimo tratto
percorre il tratturo regio di Montescaglioso e si conclude nell’abbazia benedettina di San
Michele Arcangelo. La percorrenza di questo tratturo consente di trarre informazioni su
un tratto di territorio materano ricco di storia umana e di evidenze artistiche e naturali.
Approfondimenti conoscitivi specifici sui diversi tratturi che interessano il comune di Matera,
come il tratturo qui dettagliato, possono portare ad una pianificazione, articolazione
e attuazione di obiettivi di tutela e valorizzazione. Le tipologie di intervento, in relazione
alle caratteristiche locali, possono avere un diverso grado di trasformabilità, di godimento
e tutela, e consentire, nel rispetto della conservazione dell’integrità, il miglioramento della
visitabilità e della leggibilità dei tracciati tratturali, tale da ottenere, attraverso il recupero
delle residue testimonianze, un riuso compatibile del sedime tratturale attraverso funzioni
di potenziamento del sistema del verde e dei percorsi pedonali educativi e ludici.This proposal is part of the protection and enhancement of the tracks, grassy paths,
rocky or clay, always natural background, originated by the transition and by the trampling
of cattle and used by shepherds to make transhumance, to transfer every season
the flocks from one pasture to another. These sheep tracks are defined in accordance
with the provisions of the law as "goods of archaeological interest", and are subject, like
any work in public interest, in the opinion of the archaeological and architectural Superintendent.
The publication is developed in a framework of historical and recent cartography
and of legal history, starting from the general map of the sheep tracks in scale
of 1:500,000 created in 1912 by the Technical Office of Finance of Foggia towards to
the most recent cartography. The focus is then placed on the old sheep-track Matera -
Montescaglioso that starts from Matera centre and ends at the Benedictine abbey of St.
Michael the Archangel in Montescaglioso. The sheep-track allows to get information on
a stretch of Matera area rich in human history with artistic and natural evidence. Specific
cognitive insights on the different sheep-tracks that affect the municipality of Matera
can lead to action for planning, articulation and implementation of objectives of
protection and enhancement
Missense mutations in the SH3TC2 protein causing Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4C affect its localization in the plasma membrane and endocytic pathway
[EN]
Mutations in SH3TC2 (KIAA1985) cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) type 4C, a demyelinating inherited neuropathy characterized by early-onset and scoliosis. Here we demonstrate that the SH3TC2 protein is present in several components of the endocytic pathway including early endosomes, late endosomes and clathrin-coated vesicles close to the trans-Golgi network and in the plasma membrane. Myristoylation of SH3TC2 in glycine 2 is necessary but not sufficient for the proper location of the protein in the cell membranes. In addition to myristoylation, correct anchoring also needs the presence of SH3 and TPR domains. Mutations that cause a stop codon and produce premature truncations that remove most of the TPR domains are expressed as the wild-type protein. In contrast, missense mutations in or around the region of the first-TPR domain are absent from early endosomes, reduced in plasma membrane and late endosomes and are variably present in clathrin-coated vesicles. Our findings suggest that the endocytic and membrane trafficking pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of CMT4C disease. We postulate that missense mutations of SH3TC2 could impair communication between the Schwann cell and the axon causing an abnormal myelin formation.This work was supported by the Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria [grant numbers PI08/90857, PI08/0889, CP08/00053] and the Spanish Ministry Science and Innovation [grant number SAF2006-01047]. V. L. is a recipient of JAE predoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC). M. I. G. has a `Ramon y Cajal' contract funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation. C. E. has a `Miguel Servet' contract funded by the Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria. Both CIBERER and CIBERNED are initiatives from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
We are grateful to patients and their families for their kind collaboration. We thank B. Alarcón for his technical assistance and also anonymous reviewers for their invaluable insight and suggestionsLupo, V.; Galindo, MI.; Martínez-Rubio, D.; Sevilla, T.; Vílchez, JJ.; Palau, F.; Espinós-Armero, CÁ. (2009). Missense mutations in the SH3TC2 protein causing Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4C affect its localization in the plasma membrane and endocytic pathway. Human Molecular Genetics. 18(23):4603-4614. https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddp42746034614182
The p.R1109X mutation in SH3TC2 gene is predominant in Spanish Gypsies with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4
[EN] Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease type 4 (CMT4) is the name given to autosomal recessive forms of hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN). When we began this study, three genes or loci associated with inherited peripheral neuropathies had already been identified in the European Gypsy population: HMSN-Lom (MIM 601455), HMSN-Russe (MIM 605285) and the congenital cataracts facial dysmorphism neuropathy syndrome (MIM 604168). We have carried out genetic analyses in a series of 20 Spanish Gypsy families diagnosed with a demyelinating CMT disease compatible with an autosomal recessive trait. We found the p.R148X mutation in the N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 gene to be responsible for the HMSN-Lom in four families and also possible linkage to the HMSN-Russe locus in three others. We have also studied the CMT4C locus because of the clinical similarities and showed that in 10 families, the disease is caused by mutations located on the SH3 domain and tetratricopeptide repeats 2 (SH3TC2) gene: p.R1109X in 20 out of 21 chromosomes and p.C737_P738delinsX in only one chromosome. Moreover, the SH3TC2 p.R1109X mutation is associated with a conserved haplotype and, therefore, may be a private founder mutation for the Gypsy population. Estimation of the allelic age revealed that the SH3TC2 p.R1109X mutation may have arisen about 225 years ago, probably as the consequence of a bottleneck.We are grateful for the kind collaboration of patients and families. This work was supported by the Fondo de Investigacio¿n Sanitaria (grant PI040932) and the Spanish Network on Cerebellar Ataxias of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant G03/56). English text was revised by F Barraclough.Claramunt, R.; Sevilla, T.; Lupo, V.; Cuesta, A.; Millán, J.; Vilchez, JJ.; Palau, F.... (2007). The p.R1109X mutation in SH3TC2 gene is predominant in Spanish Gypsies with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4. Clinical Genetics. 71(4):343-349. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-0004.2007.00774.x34334971
Biochemical and clinical relevance of alpha lipoic acid: antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, molecular pathways and therapeutic potential
The molecular nature of lipoic acid (LA) clarifies its capability of taking part to a variety of biochemical reactions where redox state is meaningful. The pivotal action of LA is the antioxidant activity due to its ability to scavenge and inactivate free radicals. Furthermore, LA has been shown to chelate toxic metals both directly and indirectly by its capability to enhance intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels. This last property is due to its ability to interact with GSH and recycle endogenous GSH. LA exhibits significant antioxidant activity protecting against oxidative damage in several diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders. Interestingly, LA is unique among natural antioxidants for its capability to satisfy a lot of requirements, making it a potentially highly effective therapeutic agent for many conditions related with oxidative damage. In particular, there are evidences showing that LA has therapeutic activity in lowering glucose levels in diabetic conditions. Similarly, LA supplementation has multiple beneficial effects on the regression of the mitochondrial function and on oxidative stress associated with several diseases and aging
Immunoevolution of mouse pancreatic organoid isografts from preinvasive to metastatic disease
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has a highly immunosuppressive microenvironment, which is contributed by the complex interaction between cancer cells and a heterogeneous population of stromal cells. Therefore, facile and trackable models are needed for integrative and dynamic interrogation of cancer-stroma interaction. Here, we tracked the immunoevolution of PDA in a genetically-defined transplantable model of mouse pancreatic tumour organoids that recapitulates the progression of the disease from early preinvasive lesions to metastatic carcinomas. We demonstrated that organoid-derived isografts (ODI) can be used as a biological source of biomarkers (NT5E, TGFB1, FN1, and ITGA5) of aggressive molecular subtypes of human PDA. In ODI, infiltration from leukocytes is an early event during progression of the disease as observed for autochthonous models. Neoplastic progression was associated to accumulation of Maf+ macrophages, which inversely correlated with CD8+ T cells infiltration. Consistently, levels of MAF were enriched in human PDA subtypes characterized by abundance of macrophage-related transcripts and indicated poor patients' survival. Density of MAF+ macrophages was higher in human PDA tissues compared to preinvasive lesions. Our results suggest that ODIs represent a suitable system for genotypic-immunophenotypic studies and support the hypothesis of MAF+ macrophages as a prominent immunosuppressive population in PDA
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